Hospitality keeps things hopping

Simple but effective, this thriller from co-writers and directors Nick Chakwin and David Guglielmo (No Way to Live), makes the most of its relatively few moving parts.

It’s a five-hander; six if you count the rabbit. Emmanelle Chriqui is Donna, running a bed and breakfast in a small town; Conner McVicker plays her 18-year-old developmentally disabled son. JR Bourne is the local sheriff, who clearly has some dirt on Donna and takes unseemly advantage of it. Sam Trammell plays a guest who last stayed there 20 years earlier. And Jim Beaver is following him.

With such a sparse cast and setup, one wrong move will sink the story.

Fortunately, the filmmakers never stumble – they set up a couple of dark, buried secrets, lay on a wild-west score — thick but just shy of being corny — and they let the actors do their work. And there’s a pet bunny in peril, because everyone can feel for a rabbit.

Hospitality is available on demand.